Dear John,

This month's update features two change-makers, both of whom spoke at our online World Population Day event in July. Ekaterina Zhelenkova expands on her presentation, stressing the essential role of education on development and quality of life, and Joan Kembabazi reports back from the Women Deliver conference in Rwanda.   

Also featured are a story on Earth Overshoot Day, which landed on the 2 August this year, stories from the UK and Africa and our Head of Campaigns ask the question; Are only children lonely children? We also offer a little teaser in advance of announcing our new Empower to Plan partner next week!

- The PM team

Family sizes are shrinking across the world but, for a variety of reasons, having just one child is still often not a popular choice. In fact, in a poll we conducted in 2021, just 7% of respondents said it was their ideal family size. Our Head of Campaigns, Alistair Currie, who is also a father-of-one, looks into it.

The total number of live births in England and Wales in 2022 was 605,479, down 3.1% from the previous year. While many bemoan the declining birthrate, and Musk and others shout about population collapse, Professor Sarah Harper CBE, founder and director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing and a former government adviser, said falling birth rates in the West “is a good thing” and would help to address the “general overconsumption that we have at the moment”. We couldn't agree more! 

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